Instagram last seen Online

Turn off “Last Seen” Feature on Instagram & Reclaim your Privacy

A Step-by-step Tutorial for both Android and iOS

Social networks are always coming up with new ways to compromise the privacy of their users.

Following the blue ticks feature of Whatsapp, last seen label on Facebook Messenger, another popular social network has come up an annoying new setting that lets your digital followers track every minute of your day.

Yes, we are talking about a new feature of Instagram – the “Last Active” feature. Simply put, this feature lets your Instagram followers know the last time you used the app. Sounds, creepy and highly intrusive right?

Using this function, your followers can see whether you’re online on the app as well as the last time, you logged into the app.

While this may not feel highly intrusive, there’s no denying the fact that it broadcasts what you are doing every second of your day, to all the people on your follower list.

Thankfully, you can browse Instagram posts without letting others see you’re online. Yes, Insta lets you do that.

Here, in this post, you can find all that you need to know to turn off (and turn it back on) this intrusive feature for both iOS and Android platform users.

How to Check the Last Seen?

Thankfully, the last seen feature is not available directly on your posts or your profile.

Instead, it’s tucked away into the Direct Messages on the platform.

If you haven’t noticed this feature yet, go check out your direct messages list on Instagram. Just below each message, you can notice a label under each username. This label has the format “Active ___ hours ago.”

What it means is that the particular user was last seen on Instagram the mentioned number of hours ago. Additionally, the label changes to “Online” if a specific user is currently logged into the app.

Who Can See the Last Active Feature?

If you take a closer look at this page, you can notice that the “Last Active” label is missing for a few users.

This is because you can see the Last Active status only for users who you follow and who follow you back.

Meaning, both the sender and the receiver of the message have to follow each other for this option to be visible.

However, if you have a direct message from a user, whom you have unfollowed recently, then you will still be able to check their Last Active status.

Is this Feature Available for All?

Sadly yes. If you have updated your Instagram app anytime after December 2017, then this feature is available for you. Insta users who have not updated their app, any time after the date mentioned above and are using an older version of the app will not have this feature.

Coming to the big question,

Can you Disable this Feature?

Yes. Turning off this label is quite simple. Here, we give you detailed steps on how to do it for both Android and iOS users.

Steps for Turning Off the Last Seen Status on Instagram for Android Users

To disable these features on your Instagram app for Android mobiles, make sure to use the steps listed below.

Step 1:

Open your Instagram account on your mobile. Tap the profile icon present at the right-hand side bottom corner of the home screen.

Step 2:

On your profile page tap on the three-line menu at the upper right corner. Tap on the Settings icon at the bottom of the page.

This takes you to your Instagram settings. Scroll down, till you reach the Privacy and Security tab of the Settings. Keep scrolling until you reach the “Activity Status” option. Click on it and toggle the button to “Off.”

Step 3:

Close the Instagram app and remove it from the list of recent apps on your mobile. Alternatively, you can navigate to the Application List on the Settings tab of your Android mobile. Search for Instagram from the list of apps and “Force Stop” the application.

Step 4:

Reopen the Instagram app. Head to the direct messages column to see whether the change gets reflected. You would be now able to see only the date when the message was received and not the Last Seen label.

Steps for Turning Off the Last Seen Status on Instagram for iOS Users

Step 1:

Open the Instagram icon and tap on the profile icon at the lower right corner.

Step 2:

Once you reach your Instagram profile, scroll to find the Settings icon. Tap on it, and continue scrolling till you find the “Show Activity Status” option. Slide the button to turn it off.

That’s it. You have successfully managed to turn off this annoying feature.

Point to Keep in Mind – Remember by turning off the Last Seen feature, your Instagram followers will not be able to see your last active status. Similarly, you also won’t be able to see the last seen time of the people on your following list.

This is a compromise you have to take. By barring others from viewing your activity times, you also lose the privilege of tracking the activity time of the people on your following list.

Key Takeaways – Remember These

The last seen label is visible only in the direct message inbox and not anywhere else on the app. You can check your direct messages, by tapping on the paper airplane icon on the upper right-hand corner of the home screen.

You can see the last seen feature only for accounts that you’re following and those who are following you back.

To check this feature, you must have at least one direct message shared.

However, if you aren’t following a particular Instagram account, but the user has sent you a message, you can see the Last Seen label of that account, but not vice versa.

Now, that you know how to turn off this feature, you can continue browsing on Instagram without the fear of being stalked.